Nothing about this boded well. A ruined arena, supposedly unused after the clone wars, and certainly not repaired. Filled with spectators. It was to convenient, and conveniences rarely were afforded to singular beings. Generally they were foreshadows to a dark beginning, if history of this galaxy was anything to show, it was that fact.

"You lose something,?" years of training kicked in to keep Norn from jumping towards the sudden and unexpected voice. A very unexpected voice. Mentally Norn kicked himself for not being able to sense someone so close. He'd gotten so engrossed in trying to find a way up to the balcony he hadn't payed enough attention around him. No, that wasn't it, no he was getting rusty. When he got back from this mission he'd request time to sharpen his training with the newer regiments. A knife was only as useful so long as it was sharp.

Caution was the name of the game, caution was an inherent aspect of his job, caution was why his hand was readily poised near his saber to call it to his hand in a moments notice. ?Yes, I have lost something. I'm hear to retreat it. Nothing more, Nothing less. I certainly wasn't expecting...? He turned slowly, ?...company. Fine company from the looks of it.?

This didn't feel right, for untold years the phrase 'I've got a bad feeling about this' had been reportedly used in many a situation when a bad feeling was justified. Norn didn't know if this situation befitted such a phrase but the analytical thinking imprinted in him in his training was telling him so. Add a secret mission, a half ruined arena with a dark history and a convenient audience, and then multiply it by the sudden appearance of a woman who managed to approach in a manner that a man trained not only in the force but special operations didn't sense her, you didn't come up with good news, no matter how you tried to round out the sum.

?What brings one such as yourself to such a backwards dustball as this hmm? Certainly not for the scenery, and I doubt its for the locals and their festivities either. I hear their not very becoming to outsiders like us.? He eyed her curiously, and cautiously, ?And admittedly while I would so enjoy a chance to chat, this is clearly not the place, and nor Do I have the time. I'm afraid I've an appointment to keep, the job unfortunately has to come first, and it leaves little for a personal life.? Somewhere, in the back of Norn's mind, he knew the 'appointment' was about to be postponed.

Tag: Ktala

Edit: Hope you don't mind me applying blue to your spoken text, thought it would be less confusing.

Cree could not help but notice, when the man nearly jumped out of his armor...and almost TOWARDS her. Now that she was closer, she could see his armor much more clearly now. She almost wanted to smile. Had the gods blessed her with a most perfect opponent? She despised the Jedi and Sith, for they each expounded on just how bad one was from the other. Fools! They could not see just how alike they were. But here was something even more perfect. A fool, who could not follow either calling, but instead of following his own path, he needed another's path to follow, so he had opted to follow another fool.

The hot air snapped around the Togruta. Cree momentarily enjoyed the warm breeze as she watched the mans reactions. After a moment, he replied.. ?Yes, I have lost something. I'm hear to retreat it. Nothing more, Nothing less. I certainly wasn't expecting..." He turned slowly, "...company. Fine company from the looks of it."

Cree's expression did not change, but her stomach turned cold. Had this man, just tried ...? Oh never mind! Had he NOT noticed where they stood? It took him forever to finally FACE her. 'Could he be even more dense...?' she thought to herself.

"What brings one such as yourself to such a backwards dustball as this hmm? Certainly not for the scenery, and I doubt its for the locals and their festivities either. I hear their not very becoming to outsiders like us."

'Apparently so...' she concluded. She shifted slightly, but did not move too far.

He eyed her curiously, and cautiously, "And admittedly while I would so enjoy a chance to chat, this is clearly not the place, and nor Do I have the time. I'm afraid I've an appointment to keep, the job unfortunately has to come first, and it leaves little for a personal life."

The heat of the arena around them was nothing like the one building inside of Cree, even if her outward appearance stayed calm. Was he MOCKING her?! Did he SERIOUSLY believe that they were both here, facing one another inside an arena.. simply to CHAT?! That she was a simple piece of FLUFF to be ignored or chatted up?

With no warning, Cree moved with a sweep, sending a cloud of dust and sand, along with the helmet her foot had been near towards the man. As she did, she quickly used a Force ability, using the action of the flying helmet to hide her true intent. Her hand still held the unlit saber as she taught the man the truth of one who should never be mocked. Plague.

"Yes...business first." she echoed softly, as she waited to see how he handled the helmet flying towards his head.

There was momentary mental wince when Norn saw that big shift in her skirt. One didn't have to be a highly trained individual, just a decent combatant to know what was going to happen, dust and dirt. It was a simple tactic, but hugely effective. Training kicked in in less than a heartbeat and Norn dropped himself down to one on knee, his left arm coming up to block his eyes, and the preset reaction to call his lightsaber to his right hand, the silver blade snapping to life.

For all his ducking did, it didn't save him from something large and heavy striking his left shoulder nearly throwing him off balance and hurting like hell. Rusty. But the pain was enough to bring him back into reality, and reality was a dark taint in the force. Norn instinctively brought up a barrier in the force, protecting himself from what ever foul power the schutta was planing to use. Apparently it worked, as the dark taint soon faded.

Damnit another complication, another delay. Mission after mission filled constantly with inconveniences. For a brief moment the mission to Ylesia, of a mission to infiltrate a Blue Sun artificial Force user factory. One man against dozens, out numbered, out gunned, the odds drastically in his disadvantage. But he succeeded, he had a reason to succeed, a purpose, a loyalty. He served his Emperor by choice, and by doing so served the greater good. That was the motivation he needed. It had motivated him that day, and he had defeated dozens of opponents, more frightening and skilled than this woman. He'd triumph in the name of his Emperor again today.

Norn rose from his crouch, his shoulder searing in pain, but it was overshadowed by the confidence that swelled in him now. Norn actually smirked, ?Lady Sith, you picked the wrong man lash out at today.? Using the Force to aid his speed Norn launched forward, his saber raised high over his head, as to do an over head strike, one handed. Had that been his actual purpose, it would have been foolish. But as he came close he feinted downward, into a leg sweep with is right leg, bringing his saber along in a slash at the waist. He was either going to half this woman or give her a very bad day. Either way he was going to make sure she didn't walk away. In the name of the Empire he swore it.

As Cree swept kicked the man, she saw him move. Dropping himself down to one on knee, his left arm coming up to block his eyes, and the preset reaction to call his lightsaber to his right hand, the silver blade snapping to life. So, her thoughts held true. Excellent.

She moved, still palming her saber as moved into form. The heavy helmet managed to impact him on the left shoulder. She saw him move off balance for a moment. She held her defensive position. The man smirked at her. "Lady Sith, you picked the wrong man to lash out at today."

"SITH!!" She spat out, using the foul word as if it were a curse being uttered.

Suddenly, the man became a blur as he moved forward, his saber raised high over his head as if to attack a overhead strike. A feint perhaps? Most did not use one hand to perform that strike. It would be a weak attack. So he held a different goal. It mattered not. Her form was one of ultimate defensive.

So, the fool wanted to get closer to her? Then she would assist him. She suddenly dropped down, and rolled to the right, as he quickly closed the distance between the both of them, the scent of the blood within the sand filling her nostrils, calling to her primitive side. She could sense his position. The sound of a lightsaber making contact with a part of her clothing, and the smell of burning material fills her lungs. As she came to a kneeling position, he is close. Very close. She snarled and she gestured with one hand. Force Pull.

As she yanked at his rapidly closing form, she yanked him downwards, hard. At the same time she did, she finally activate her green saber that had been in her hand the entire time, pointing it upwards in a motion to either impale him on her blade due to his momentum he had from his force run, and her yank...or at least block any other incoming attacks.

Impossible, just impossible. The distance between them had been small, obviously the distance needed to kick a helmet at the angle and velocity she did hadn't been to great, and he knew his eyes hadn't deceived them. And he had amplified his speed, he knew he had easily been moving at twice the already formidable speed he had. Yet she somehow dodged it. The overhead feint, was designed to force the opponent to place their balance point lower to their knees to either dodge or avoid. Then the Leg sweep would knock them over.

She had followed this like a well trained pet, but then impossibly, she rolled. Not only roll but be completely avoid contact with the kick. The lightsaber strike, it to had been thwarted, somehow only catching fabric. It was if some outside force was giving her the power and perception to do these things, not the Force, the Force. His training, the best that Imperial credits could buy imparted him with the knowledge that what had just happened wasn't at all possible, yet somehow, it had happened.

Norn came out of the leg sweep in a kneeling position, the martial arts training kicking in at the back of his skull telling him that in the position the two of them were in the kneeling position was best for him, as it gave him the ability to spring forward or back. It also granted one a sturdy base to defend from overhead strikes if your opponent recovered quicker than you. And in the case of fighting a Force wielding opponent it helps defend against some Telekinetic Force powers. He felt the Force pull down on him, and knew had he rose up and stood he'd have been pulled down, but since to he was kneeling, his body was more sturdy and all but shrugged off the move, though he felt for a moment like he weighed a ton.

Adding to the silliness of this she followed through by positioning her saber in, had he been standing, what would have been prime impaling real estate. This opponent, for all her mystical attack dodging abilities, was clearly not intelligent., ?Stupid Sithspawn.? She followed through far to quickly for the counter attack she preformed. Add that the counter attack wasn't exactly meant for a, it put her into a position of compromise, if you preform an attack that needs time to quickly, your opponent will be able to easily turn it about on your. Norn was going to teach her this lesson.

Norn kicked his left foot forward, aimed at the hilt of her positioned saber, just below the emitter, if it worked, which, in reality, it most likely would, the saber would shift just enough to be pointed towards her, in which case... Norn reached out with the force, and yanked the demon woman towards her own saber, reversing the attack on her. In reality, this move, would be damned difficult to miss fully, hell Norn knew if he was on the receiving end he'd likely only be able to shift to take a saber in the shoulder. But considering what happened moments ago, Norn somehow doubted reality would hold up.

Even as Cree was in motion, the man was very quick. He might be a pawn, but he was a well trained one. The man was in kneeling position, Cree realized as she was also in a kneeling position.

While normally a good position, it was not a good position to be in at the moment. There was movement, as the man kicked at her hand, just below the the hilt of her saber. Frack, this was not good. The kick could at least send the saber flying. It wasnt until she felt the sudden yank and pull against her own body, did she truly realize what it was he was doing.

FAH!.. He was using her same mode of attack against her. A bit more awkward perhaps, but just as deadly. As her saber shifted its position, she did the only thing she could think to do. She turned off the saber as quick as she could. But not quick enough. His violent yank managed to bring her forward, as she snarled as she felt the bite of her own saber into her right shoulder before she managed to turn it off. 'Fala, that hurt!' The kick kicked her saber up, as she had been pointing it forward, to the point her wrist could not move it back any further. It was the yank that had done the most damage.

Since she was already in a forward motion, she hit the ground, and rolled to the left, using speed to get some distance from the man. Her shoulder ached as she rolled, reminding her of her foolish overconfidence. Cree cast a protective bubble around her, giving herself some protection as she moved, and then stopped. She felt her anger growing. She sat up in a low crouch, spitting out dirt. The grit crunched against her teeth as she ground her teeth. Time to think, she thought silently to herself as she planned for her next move, her saber kept at medium defensive position. She silently glared, as she looked over the man. Hmmm. Something was off here.

Norn raised himself up to a standing position, taking long deep breaths to refill his body with the oxygen he'd used up from running. He was, under certain situations, capable of sprinting very short distances at, as his trainer had put it, 'roughly sixty kilometers an hour. Granted Norn thats for a very short period of time, certainly not more than a few minutes. But by the Force thats impressive...' Norn had prided himself on this, but when coupled with Force Speed, it was straining on anyone, had it been more than a few feet he'd likely be panting. It was just that fact that had him feeling lightly blessed at the relatively 'small' size of the arena.

He kept his eyes locked on this woman, now off a good distance away, in a defensive stance now. This is better, this is much much better. In this battle Norn had just made several small victories. He'd wounded her, and he'd made her retreat. In this situation this was an incredible advantage for him, as now she was playing on his terms. By wounding her, he had taught her that she was facing an opponent that could outwit, out preform, and harm her, at least somewhat.

By forcing her to retreat, and go on the defensive, he'd gained another advantage. By retreating she was forcing herself to admit that she was not skilled enough to engage at the optimum range for her skills. That was both a psychological strike, and a physical disadvantage. Psychological in the fact that now she had to think outside her comfort zone, physical in that she had to preform outside of it. And by her being on the defensive, she had to admit she couldn't face him head on, not like she normally would at least. Psychological Warfare 101. It was a required course at the academy.

But the biggest advantage was the fact that it had given Norn a chance to think, to formulate what he was going to do now. He pulled his saber up into a semi-makashi stance, hand and saber together on a 45 degree angle from his body aimed at the opponent, and he slowly circled her to his left, his eyes locked on her as he ran over the last few moments of his life. And then it hit him, Everything they do the voice of hos Psychological Warfare instructor echoed in his mind. Every thing your opponent does gives you information about them. How they move tells you how they will attack, how they attack tells you how they will defend. But its not always about combat, body language and spoken language. How their body and words react to you and yours, will tell you more about them than a heavily detailed intelligence dossier

That was it, when he'd called her Lady Sith, she'd spat the word Sith back like it insulted her. Because it had, something about that word put a bad taste in her mouth. It was an assumption, but all to often then not that was all combatants had to go on, so Norn took it. ?So.? he started, ?Sith? No? You attack without provocation, without need. You assault with the intent to kill unnecessarily. And yet you find yourself revolted by the concept of being called a Sith?? he tapped his left ear with his left hand.

?I heard your reaction. I'm not a fool, not like you. See you're not a Sith. The Sith are better than you. For all the atrocious and horrible things they do, they have the decency and honor to refer to themselves as Sith. They have a code, horrible as it is. But you. You are pathetic. You can't even admit to yourself what you are, you can't even embrace what makes you exist. You're so pathetic nobody would take you. At best you're a Dark Jedi, the lowest of the low, bottom feeders of Force users. Its so sad its laughable.?

Norn ended his circling tactic with his back near a wall, a mental smile growing. Normally this would be disadvantages but he had view of the whole arena, anything she could throw at him he would clearly see now. Advanced Combat Maneuvers Course, voluntary, but any good warrior w

Cree watches as the man raised himself up to a standing position, taking long deep breaths. She was breathing hard herself, and her shoulder hurt like mad, but she shoved that thought away from her mind. She was thankful for her armor. No, she had other things on her mind. She had opened up a sizable distance between them now. Hmmm. Yes, something was not right here. She slowly twirled her saber as he suddenly became talkative.

But she was not paying attention to whatever it was he said. She knew quite well what he was doing. It was almost Sith in nature. True, she had let her anger get to her, and now she used it... but not the way he thought. No, she was paying attention to her surroundings. To what he was doing. He was moving. Circling, and while he was babbling, he had moved his back near a wall. Considering all the space they had within the arena ruins.. well it was interesting. A back to a wall could be interpreted in so many ways. He was moving away even more, so that that gave her an advantage as well. So she didnt mind listening to him babble, for it served a purpose. It was useful. Once, it gave her a chance to recover a bit from her rapid movements. Her feet moved upon the warm sand as she moved.

And two, it gave her something else she needed.

He continued to chatter, saying something about a dog snapping at its master, and being put down. She prepared her next attack. She continued to spin her saber in front of her, picking up speed as she chuckling darkly.

'Put down eh?', she thought to herself. Cree found that statement amusing. She only tilted her head slightly, as she suddenly stopped spinning her saber, putting it in low defensive. She whipped all emotions from her face, as she stood watching the man.

When you took military training, it taught you many many things. How to use a blaster rifle like you're conducting an orchestra. How to preform joint operations with numerous half dozen man squads. How the new Mark-XII Stormtrooper armor could take up to 5 standard blaster shots in any one area before failing, or one high powered blaster shot to any armored spot. Military training was very useful especially, for learning how to kill a nameless person in another type of uniform, or armor in the name of your government, and live with yourself.

But Special Operations training, at least within the Empire, was something effective and different. Every thing that Military training gave you was expanded upon, in much greater and effective detail than what the average lot received. They taught you how to take a rifle and and orchestrate that single note to kill a man over a kilometer away. They took away that six man squad, and made you more efficient than any average military squad could be. They taught you how to be more defended with less, how to avoid damage, rather than give you what you need to take it.

But the most important thing, that Special Operations training teaches an man, is something that the average military type can't take, no matter the big talk. How to get up close and personal, to fight so close that you have to get to know your opponent a little bit. More often then not you knew them more than that, intelligence dossiers, files, folders, observations, they often lead to you getting an intimate sense of knowing your target, from their face, to their daily routine, more often then not their families. Special Operations training taught you how to kill someone you knew, and live with yourself, special operations training made you a monster.

He was a monster, he knew it, He told those in training to become Special Operation Knights that they would become it too. Back in a classroom, in a somewhat less strenuous time. "We Special Operations Knights must put our own personal feelings aside in service of the Emperor. We must believe and know that every action We do is the will of the Emperor, and We must believe and know that the Emperor's will is for the betterment of the Galaxy. And We must know that some changes for good, have to be brought about by actions that many would deem as horrible from some stand point. The Special Operations Knight must be willing to do horrible things, to make better worlds. Must know we are monsters, but to know that We are the monsters that are helping shape a better world. Even if it isn't for us monsters to live in. Otherwise We would be no better than the Sith or a Dark Jedi."

It was true, every word of it. Norn had personally in the name of the Empire killed hundreds of people. He'd personally set of a nuclear warhead that had erased a small section of Ylesia from the surface, just to hid the fact that there had been a Blue Sun operation from the minds of the galaxy. If they knew artificial force users were still being made on their worlds it would have been chaos. So Norn had killed, and destroyed, he'd tainted his hands red and green with blood. The proverbial technicolour trappings of war, just so others wouldn't have to live with that in the future.

This duel had already been decided, Norn knew it. This was not combat between two equal opponents, this was a duel between a Monster and an Insect. He knew it, even if his opponent didn't. She was broken and he could tell, she might look and act skilled, and by truth have some, but observing her now he could tell her training was at best partially official, at worst all self-taught. Either way she stood no chance against a full trained and skilled Imperial Knight, let alone him. And yet despite all this, she laughed.

?You find all this funny? Are you so broken and twisted that realizing that what you loath is better than you is funny?? Norn sighed, a half hearted false sigh. ?Listen here and listen well. I am Norn Dukai, Special Ope

Cree smiled. By the drells of Frasha, this man could drone on. She listened to him, sill grinning. "You find all this funny? Are you so broken and twisted that realizing that what you loath is better than you is funny?" he sighed. "Listen here and listen well. I am Norn Dukai, Special Operations Imperial Knight of the Highest Order. I am the Best of the Best. I have fought enemies more skilled and worthy than you and ground them into dust in the name of My Empire and her Emperor. I stand before you in a League you couldn't dare achieve in a life time of struggle and training." Cree began to work part of her plan, as the man continued to speak.

"You may think you're skilled but you are nothing. I stand here and all you can do is sit and stare and laugh, you can't even formulate words to fight back let alone fight physically. You've lost this, you lost long before it started. I'm going to give you this one chance to leave, this one chance to keep your life, to live for another day, for another person to kill you. Run away and live, you don't have to die here but I guarantee that if you do fight me, I will kill you. And you will be left to rot here, unknown and uncared about on a dustball, not even a footnote to the galaxy."

Cree gave a small clap of her hands. "Fascinating speech. Have you finished yet, or do you plan to prattle some more? You bray like some beast." She moved her saber a bit, placing it in a middle guard position.

"Why should I waste my words?, ... when you seem to have plenty for the both of us." she stated dryly. She chuckled. It was time to test something she had noticed about the man. She then sprinted towards the man, her saber still in the same position. She came to a sudden stop, well before she was anywhere close to a blow, and called forth a dark Storm upon the man.

Norn was a very honest man, always had been. When he was younger, a little boy on Corellia, he'd found some credits that had been dropped by someone. Most kids would gleefully take the credits for themselves and buy them something, Norn did something else. He'd been born with a natural sense of justice, Right and Wrong, and he knew that taking those credits and using them was wrong. So, always the honest child, he'd turned them into the first officer he'd seen.

When he'd joined the Empire, he'd had the opportunity to lie about his history. Clearly, a man born and raised in the Confederacy joining the armed services of the Empire would be, unusual at best, laughed and denied at worst. But he wanted to serve for the betterment of the Galaxy, and if you started off with a lie, you never could justify any truth afterwards.

Now admittedly Norn could lie, he could do it if his life depended on it, and in the line of Duty for the Empire. But Norn could never lie to himself, to do so would jeopardize not only his resolve, but it could jeopardize his life. That is why, as he brought his lightsaber up in a desperate attempt to block some of the lightning arching towards him, he had to be honest with himself. He was surprised.

He was surprised about two things. He had honestly thought his attempts to demoralize or enrage her would have worked. Her earlier reaction to the word Sith and all his training had screamed to him that it would work. Could he have been wrong? Perhaps. Could he have incorrectly assumed that the woman was sane and she was in reality too mentally unstable to be affected by psychological tactics at any sort of predictable pace? It certainly seemed likely.

The second thing, was her method of attack. He'd honestly anticipated a physical attack, he'd even used the Force to attempt to foresee that attack. And as he watched her rush forward towards him, he knew he was certainly right. Then he was wrong. His perception had failed him, and he'd paid for it. He was still paying for it. By expecting a physical method of attack the use of Force Lightning had caught him off guard.

It was so unexpected in fact that the shock of being wrong actually overcame the pain of the lightning, for about three seconds at least. He'd felt worse pain in his life, having volunteered for a 'class' in the subject of pain resistance. A class that included being subjected to various forms of pain, sometimes near torture, to better harden the pain threshold. Had it not been voluntary it would have been illegal.

Despite all that it still hurt like hell. Even now, with the lightsaber brought forward to bear, absorbing much of the lightning, some still arced past. Lances of white hot electricity licked at his armor and skin, scorching cloth and flesh alike. His teeth ground together and his left foot pressed hard against the ground, anchoring him in place as he tried hard to concentrate.

?Come now Norn. You were trained for this. Remember, you can use your opponents strength against them. Refocus their own power for your own use. Make her power a weakness.? That was it! He just needed to focus, put his mind to it and he could not just negate her attack but use it against her. But then came the question of what to do afterwards, and for that he knew just what to do.

Norn took in a deep breath, he ignored the pain, he ignored everything. He didn't move, save breath, he just focused, himself and the Force, for the task at hand. The lightning lanced over him, but now, it wasn't harming him, but fueling him. Then he acted.

The Force swelled around him, and he smirked ?Now let me show you what one who has really mastered the force can do.? Norn raised his left hand, and thrust the palm forward, and unleashed the 'neutral' skill he was most powerful at. Force Wave. An Omni directional pulse of pure Force energy and power rippled out away from Norn, kicking up dust, droid parts and bodies, disturbing everything in its path. And he wasn't done

Cree watched with anticipation, as her lighting arced its way across the arena, towards the man. He had probably thought that she was going to try to beat him
across the head with her lightsaber, instead of trying another tactic. But she had been intrigued by something else she had seen. So she had decided to test her
theory.

As much as she hated being dragged about, to be used as 'entertainment' for someones wiles, she had to admit, that this had unfolded much differently than she would have suspected it would. Quite an interesting test of things.

The man brought his lightsaber up. Was he trying to block it? It certainly seemed likely. He held his lightsaber aloft, and she watched as the lighting scorched over him. Lances of white hot electricity licked at his armor and skin, scorching cloth and flesh alike. His teeth ground together and his left foot pressed hard against the ground. Cree thought that perhaps she could get another attack in. So she was rather surprise when he spoke once more. He acted ... different.

The Force suddenly swelled around him, and he smirked "Now let me show you what one who has really mastered the force can do." What was he up to now?! The man raised his left hand, and thrust the palm forward, and unleashed a Force blast of some sort. The blast kicked up dust, droid parts and bodies, disturbing everything in its path.

WHAT!!?!

Cree barely had time to bring her saber up high, gritting her teeth as she absorbed the blast that he was doing. He again was seemingly using an tactic similar to her own, which meant he was probably going to attack, as he had the last time.

She dropped to a defensive position, her saber high, as she kept herself low, and used the energy she was absorbing, channeling it into a protective bubble around
her.

This man definitely had more to him, than she had intentionally imagined. A true challenge. If she wasnt busy trying not to lose her head, she would have smiled
with the thought.

A scream rang out; the Geonosian equivalent of a gong - a beldon being pierced with a spear. A wall in the Force blocked the two combatants from each other, and Darth Insipid saw his hand had betrayed him, acting to the 'gong' and preventing the violence from continuing. He'd been looking forward to seeing the Imperial Knight cut down at the insane woman. Her position wasn't astonishing, not at all.

Darth Insipid found that his teeth were grinding, and knew why. He fully emerged from the tunnel which would have him standing where Darth Tyranus had over a century and a half ago, and looked down at the two of them, raising his hands to calm the Geonosians. Who did so immediately. Of course they did. "The duel is over, Cess and Norn Dukai."

The Sith Lord paid little heed to the other judges. "Norn Dukai, I don't have a great deal to say about you. I might have liked to see a bit of more of Norn spending time growing, rather than listing his history and ability all the time, it could said. That being said, that is a small consideration of mine."

"Cess..." Darth Insipid canted his head to her. "I had a few concerns fairly early into your actions. I felt he moved too fast with speed for Cess to work out that he was launching a feint and then drop and then pull him towards you - the speed in which he moved required a reaction. Additionally, it was my opinion that Cess could not have known that using the Force was the opportune thing to do, either, when Norn made use of precognition. I felt there needed to be more justification in Cess' mind. As it was, Cess' choices weren't always ran through very obviously. Cess was, if the implication of her CS anything, a very intriguing individual. What was she doing on Geonosis?"

An interesting debate and a good read by everyone. It was a close call and you should both be proud of your work here.

I think both sides need to work more on elaborating how the duel goes, and pay attention to time and realism a little closer.

Using three or four moves/actions at a time is troublesome to this judge, as I feel it really warps the way the duel happens. Remember that this debate should be happening in real time. So if you're rolling, then swiping, the kicking, all in a short time or even simultaneously, it should either be impossible for you to do this, or your opponent should realistically be able to see these things and adjust.

I think both players to some degree are guilty of this, but Kahn a little less than Ktala. For example, in the first bout, Ktala does ignore the fact that it was close range, this fact also works against Kahn. Because it is so close, I find it harder to believe that he could line up and orchestrate a fairly complicated move in so short a distance. However, Kahn does use speed, which is backed up by both contest rules and canon, so I'm inclined to give him a shred more legitmacy.

I think you both did incredibly impressive moves. I thought the pike move was great Ktala, I thought the counter was even better, and I thought the reply of turning the switch off was an extremely intelligent solution. Again, this whole sequence suffered from technical issues. I think Kahn could have been more specific how his maneuver was done (which hand is the lightsaber in, left or right?) (how was the sweep performed, etc). Outside of battle precognition though, I felt Ktala being able to turn the saber off in time was a stretch. Obviously it would be pretty wow to have it go right through her heart, but a side wound or a graze might have been more appropriate.

Speaking of which, I would also have liked to see more damage taken by Ktala. There were a few instances where I don't think it was explained all that well *how* her character was able to dodge Kahn's attacks. And like Sinre said, when he is augmented by speed, this makes waving it away all the more difficult. However also, I am aware that if we allow speed to be used too liberally, we'll have nothing but a mess of speed-junkies zooming around the tournament floor like force-users hopped up on caffeine. So I'm willing to give *some* but not all benefit of the doubt to Ktala.

On Kahn's side, just saying the injuries you took are painful doesn't seem like enough to me. What is to stop any competitor from just slogging through all force-attacks? Ktala's accepting of the bonk from the saber actually allowed the move to affect the duel. This, IMO, amends for a good deal of Ktala's missteps and was something I think Kahn should have considered as well. Real concrete consequences for accepting damage.

Also I see one of Ktala's first abilities used was Plague (6/11 at 10:37pm). I see Ktala mention it with almost zero detail, I see Kahn mentioning it vaguely, and I see Ktala then not follow up with it. I would have liked to see more detail on both sides regarding this attack.

All in all, its really difficult to judge force-heavy duels like this because its such a foreign thing, this force, that we have so little experience in. And because it does so many different and fantastic things, it becomes even trickier to judge what is or is not realistic in an inherently unrealistic framework.

The technical aspects of the duel go to Kahn, but only by a slight margin. There is enough fault on both sides not to make this a blow out.

Story was a little easier. While both users started very strong in their stories, I found Ktala's tends to (loosely) shrink. Kahn is giving us huge backstories about how his days in the academy effect how he's doing his duel, whereas Ktala is sticking to a narrow interpretation of the duel. While I don't expect to see her whole character's history fleshed out here, I think there were a few missed instances Ktala could have used to really explore and give us into her character's m

There is no rain that ends within, the seas of the world of watery sin, where monsters are born as angels rule, where science plays itself as the fool.

Rain.

Incessant rain.

Hammering down on the platform where the two duelists now stood. It was empty, beyond scars from a duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett, scars which had never been healed - for Kamino had been besieged. The Clone Wars saw the Separatists and Mandalorians devastate the cities, and the wars of the Empire had not been friendly to Tipoca City either.

It was on this platform, bereft of the Slave I as it had been a century and a half before, that the two would meet, and it was on this platform that fate would deploy a grey shadow, and a white light, would fight for a future.

It had been a long time since the Witches had let anyone look at the ruins of that ancient civilization that had come so far to merely fall as far as one could without extinction of essence from the galaxy. The Qwi, as most knew them, had been an ancient race that had arrived suddenly out of nowhere?or to be more precise, suddenly from another galaxy. Not too unlike the Vong, except they only used technology to do so and a control of wormhole technology that dwarfed anything currently understood or capable of creating with modern technology.

And if they knew that much about subspace, hyperspace, and the space-time continuum then perhaps she might be able to find a way to apply it to help protect her people, protect Susevfi. How was still academic, maybe by redirecting vessels attempting to enter the system to the other side of the galaxy, perhaps dropping them in the Maw, or perhaps creating a hyperspace barrier around the system.

That was for others to figure out as the group of scientists of Susevfi where attempting to do as the Witches fulfilled the role of guides and guards of their honored guests. In return if they figured out the secrets the Jensaarai and the Witches of Dathomir would be bound to use it to help protect each other from the threat of Krayt and his tyrannical threats that stole their youth as they sacrificed themselves for their people.

Her job in all of this, stand there, give force insight, and keep anything that tried to stop them from succeeding. So far it was one of the most boring jobs she had ever undertaken, which was saying something if one considered taking guard duty in the Ring Defenders for two weeks as a favor involved sitting around staring at stars and meditating for any potential incoming threats. Although the view from the top of the structure was amazing to gaze out on those plains, mountains, and forests with their dangerously large inhabitants roaming and changing the landscape with every heavy step that shook the earth.

Then it happened.

A scientist yelled that he had found something, which was odd in itself enough as the local guards and their rancors inched closer to see, and the other scientists ran like little children after candy. All of this she took in from her post at the top of the ziggurat with its twin arched spires reaching toward the darkening heavens behind her, that moments before had been bright with noondays light.

She felt it first, a pulling in the force, like a lake that had an empty underground cavern or sinkhole collapse, draining all the water above down into itself, and her standing on the brink. First the waters parted flowing around her, like a stone too set in place to be moved, but then the current increased and she could feel the wind whipping against her armored form, and watched as an odd droid on repulserlift?s flew by her from the pull.

As her footing gave way and her body flipped from the sheer forces acting upon her weighted frame she briefly glimpsed the darkened sky above and what was yet to come. Her eyes widened as shots of multicolored force lighting shot from the forming storm onto the two spires and into a swirling blue vortex that she rapidly approached watching with horror as the droid vanished with an explosion of force lightning. Something that soon she knew would happen to herself as she felt the tidal power of the force narrow down to a single point as she hit the vortex?and then she knew no more.

Location: Kamino

How long she was unconscious on that ground she could not say, although she apparently didn?t have to.

?Mistress Defender? Mistress Defender are you awake? Oh, Thank the Maker! You are awake and moving?feebly it seems but no worries I?ve observed organics to do so after falling hard and waking up after an hours sleep before, everything will be alright Mistress.?

Oh, why in heavens couldn?t she have been stranded alone? If this was any indication the d

"Were it not for this incessant torrential downpour, this might almost feel like home," Shey Pallask thought to himself with a slight smile as he shook the water from his soaked blond hair and blue-and-white robes. This world was a long way from his homeworld of Pelagon, to be sure, but the sight of water stretching from horizon to horizon still gave him a feeling of nostalgia when he paused to take in the view. He had been more than a little annoyed when he had first been told that he was being pulled from his previous assignment to scout and compile a report on some distant world in the galactic backwater, but his irritation had mostly subsided after he learned of his destination. It was not every day that one got the chance to visit such an exotic world, after all, let alone one with a history like Kamino.

Furthermore, this was not simply some routine check-up that could be performed by any of the newly-knighted with access to a ship. Reports of suspicious activity on the world had reached the Jedi, and they tended to err on the side of caution when "suspicious activity" and "cloning" came up in the same star system ever since the Clone Wars a century and a half back. Thus, here he was, cold and bedraggled, making his way through the white, unmarked halls of Tipoca City. Unwelcome barely even began to describe how he felt as he moved through the structure. To a Kaminoan, it could very well have been an architectural masterpiece, but to him the walls only seemed impersonal and sterile. Coupled with the absence of any sort of activity or sound, the place could easily be likened to something out of a haunting nightmare. The vast ocean outside was pleasant enough to watch, but the sooner he was out of this building, the better.

As his walk took him around the outer edge of the city, he felt a growing sense of unease when he approached the next landing platform over from the one he had used to arrive. He had not noticed a ship there when he first landed, nor had he felt the vibrations since then that would indicate another starship setting down on it. He doubted it was another Jedi: perhaps an agent of the Empire? He rested his right hand on the hilt of his lightsaber, but did not draw it yet. His training had been that of a healer and a keeper of peace, and it would go against both what he had been taught and his own personal sense of honor to draw it before conflict was clearly unavoidable.

Walking up to the doors that would take him back out under the grey sky and rain, he opened them with a brief touch of the control panel. Stepping out onto the walkway that connected the landing platform to the doorway behind him, his hand involuntarily tightened around his lightsaber. A sudden, visceral impression of a savage beast flashed through his mind at the sight that stood before him, and a surge of fear wormed its way through his body. "There is no emotion, there is peace," he recited mentally, almost as if by reflex. Clamping down on the primal part of him that was strongly suggesting flight as the best course of action with some difficulty, he forced himself to take another step forward and called out to...whatever or whoever it was, "I am Shey Pallask of the Jedi Order. Name yourself and state your purpose here."

It was human, male by the looks of it, in robes befitting a Jedi or traveler most easily. Most likely a Jedi as the light blue tunic with white undergarments was in no way a current fashion statement anywhere in the galaxy by any being that held some self-preservation due to Darth Krayt.

As he stepped forward hand tightly wrapped around his lightsaber the creature found it's tongue, "I am Shey Pallask of the Jedi Order. Name yourself and state your purpose here."

So it was a Jedi. She had wished it might have been another creature altogether, for she bore this one no ill will beyond wishing they would leave her people alone in these hard times. For like the sith their young might as easily run away to join the Jedi and fight Krayt as they were to join Krayt, both to save their people. With sadness and anger drifting across her mind she removed her lightsaber, taking it in both hands, right near one emiter, left at the bottom near the other. A strangled tear rolling hidden over her cheek, as her throat constricted simpathetically from these strong emotions.

She searched the force once more, probing and proding but it seemed to show the same future, same course of actions that had to be taken for any good to come of this meeting. Actions she sorely wished she had another to give them to.

A single yellow blade emerged, it's snap-hiss unmistakible even in this terrintial downpour from her lightsaber, sticking up in the air angled to her rightside. "If I am understanding, we are to fight to give and show honor for this place to the force." her voice was still harsh, but more like one that cried the vocal ability of clear speech away and was holding back another downpour that might yet finish the job.

"I am Mika?sai?Jeisel Defender of the Jensaarai. If I can I will try to spare your life to leave you wounded here, that is the most I promise for our battle. That and that if I fail I will make sure your end is quick." With that she bowed her head slightly to the man before raising herself into a strong defensive stance. Her fingers flexing for a better grip of the lightsaber, clicking from the armors contact to be heard over the downpour...a silent regret.

To say the being's response to his query surprised and confused the Jedi would be something of an understatement. Defender of the Jensaarai? A spark of recognition lit in Shey's mind, and his eyes narrowed as he recalled the history lessons that he had been taught as a young apprentice. One of the hidden followers of truth, here? He did not think that they had allied themselves with the Sith, at least not yet, but the words of the armored warrior standing on the platform still perplexed him. Show honor for this place? Our battle? Could this be some sort of test? The act of activating their lightsaber indicated that negotiation was clearly not their foremost objective, at least.

As he turned over these thoughts in his mind, he removed the soaked white robe from his body, leaving himself clothed only in simple blue garb. If a fight was inevitable, as it appeared to be, something so cumbersome would only hinder his movements. He moved to let the robe fall to the ground, but paused before it left the grasp of his fingers, changing his mind and instead casting it over the edge of the walkway into the stormy depths below. It would not do to stumble over his robe in combat: such a mistake could easily be fatal. On the battlefield, its color marked him out as a healer and bringer of aid, but that would do him no good here.

Unclipping his lightsaber from his belt, he pushed the ignition switch forward with his thumb, and its brilliant green blade flashed into existence. A wave of steam flowing through the air quickly followed as the pouring rain made contact with the blade. The knowledge that this was a sentient being like himself and not some monster given form from his nightmares granted him the strength to return the challenge that had been offered. Planting his feet as firmly as possible on the slick walkway, he drew his lightsaber up to point at the Jensaarai warrior before tilting it at an angle so that the blade's tip met his eye level. Grasping the hilt with a firm, two-handed grip, he made one last entreaty to avoid combat. "I owe you no ill will, Jensaarai. Is there no way for us to avoid this unnecessary fight?" He doubted it would achieve its desired effect, but would be no true Jedi if he did not at least make the attempt.

She did what only she could as the Jedi disrobed, slowly as though something interfered with his movements, most likely his own thoughts as he tried the force to know as she had recently done, she waited unmoving. Giving honor to her opponent in waiting and possibly searching the force wisely. If he searched it he would understand, they had to fight.

Alas his mind must have been turned in and not out nor about them, for his words were those of avoidance. Shaking her head negative once more slowly, scattering the dripping water to drizzle in lines to either side, she added simply "No." A single word for a single way that things had to be.

Stepping forward with that word she advanced, walking purposefully toward her target, opponent, swordsmen...Jedi...man. As she neared half way near him from the greater distance of the slickened platform from which they had started she reached into the force.

As she slipped and slid slightly on that surface as she turned her left side more to face him in a slight squat, lightsaber pulled over her right shoulder as she yanked at his form with mighty force pull.

For a moment there was only the sound of falling water as she pulled, and the sound as it hit them, dripped from their bodies, and hissed upon their blades...living water some inlanders called it. Nuisance water it was to her now. A stray lightning bolt lit the sky as she brought her lightsaber around in a powerful blow to split the man in half at the navel if she had timed it right and his mind did not very from it's path of cringing.

"No." That was it, then. There was nothing left to do but fight. It was unfortunate, but the Jensaarai had given him little say in the matter. All he could do now was defend himself, and hope that he could at least resolve this fight before he was forced to claim a life. He had killed before, but it was something he took no joy in doing. Holding his defensive stance, he prepared himself for the coming clash of blades as the Jensaarai slowly approached. The armored warrior had given away no clues to their manner of fighting, and making any assumptions as this point would only place him in a situation of greater difficulty should they later be proved wrong.

The first blow was, however, not to be one struck with a blade. He felt the Force swirling about him, but not by his own invocation. With sudden force, it pulled at him, drawing him forward across the slippery walkway, the tips of his boots barely scraping the ground, onto the platform where the Jensaarai's blade awaited, doubtlessly prepared to cleave him in twain should his reaction be clouded by doubt for even an instant. Quickly shoving aside the idea of trying to meet blade with blade under these conditions, he instead drew upon his own wellspring of the Force, channeling it through his now-outstretched left hand and thrusting it forward toward the Jensaarai. Two could play at this game of human grav-ball.

As he came at her and her swing began, using the leverage of her left arm on the extended hilt to add the power behind the blade it ended cleaving only rain as the quickly built about her...not from her call but his before tossing her back.

Instinctually she pulled her right leg back, knee bent, to brace if she hit a wall. But she was not destined to hit a wall as she came down on her left leg, only to keep falling and sliding back as her right foot then knee hit the landing pad. Skidding back across the slick surface she nodded to her opponent, lightsaber still shinning forward.

"That's going to be sore in an hour. I thought you were good at this?" came a quick reply piped through her helmets internal comlink. "Glad we weren't attacked on Dathomir if that's the best a Jensaarai can do. Maybe the Jedi could use another droid, do you think? I could be helpful for whatever reason he is here. Yes, that soothes my stress circuits, if you want you can die then Defender, I am sure the Jedi would be glad to have me."

Pushing up she slowly stood, growling at the insescent talk of the droid. At least the Jedi had had the sense to stop talking once combat was commenced between them, all the while she kept her blade up between her and him. She advanced again moving steadily, walking lest she loose her footing on this slick platform, again to engage him. Her knee was slightly sore but the armor had absorbed most of any damage that might have befallen her even in it's weakened state, so only a slightly twinge and grimace that most likely would have accented her growl if seen was on her face or in her mannerisms as she advanced.

Bringing the blade to her left shoulder she advanced toward him. Then as the distance closed she switched her hold to the right shoulder and quickly brought the blade down to cut from his right shoulder to his navel. With the distance the blade would only cut a few inches deep, but that bit would be enough hopefully for him to start showing his own style with the blade.

If not, then it would leave him with enough life to give himself up and leave this place wounded but alive. She would keep her word if she could and merely leave him in a wounded state, but only the passage of time and blades would truly tell who was left wounded or dead, and why it was the force urged them to fight here this day.

Judging by the fact that his two halves remained connected as a whole, his sudden push with the Force had succeeded in catching the Jensaarai off guard. That was something to be thankful for, at least. His brief Force-aided flight over the landing pad soon after came to a sudden halt as his feet returned to contact with the ground, which themselves were quickly followed by his knees and left hand. A rough landing, but he couldn't feel any lasting damage, though there would be bruises later on, he was sure. Returning to his feet as quickly as his pained legs permitted, he saw the Jensaarai approaching once more; clearly any hopes he might have had about the warrior sliding all the way off the other end of the platform had been in vain.

As the armor-clad warrior drew closer, he slowly moved backward in response, resuming the defensive stance he had held prior to being unceremoniously hauled across the platform. Resilience and patience were the prized traits of a practitioner of the Soresu form, and he would not risk overextending himself in an attack until an opportune moment presented itself. Sooner or later, his foe would exhibit a flaw that he could exploit, and then he could end this foolish clash in a single move. The Jensaarai appeared to have been moving forward slightly more swiftly than he had been retreating, however, as he soon found the warrior's lightsaber blade arcing through the air toward him. Startled by the suddenness of the strike, he took another step back and swung his own blade up vertically to parry the blow. At this close a range, the tip of his lightsaber should draw dangerously close to his opponent. ?Flinch,? he thought, ?and give me the chance to finish this.?

As their blades met and clashed, screeching in the falling rain. Containment fields touching, plasma flaring, hearts pounding, the battle began in earnest.

His blade had swung up to meet hers, and there was only time to react. Taking a quarter step back she flipped her lightsaber back as though for a heavy blow, but as it raised she flicked the second pad ignighting the second blade to shoot out and jabbed in the same instant to stab and sweep the left leg of the Jedi through the groin.

It was time to switch to Juyo, it would be tricky in this slippery and not as safe as Djem So, but it was time to step this up and finish it soon. With luck this would be over soon.

Shey's realization of the Jensaarai's true intentions almost came a fatal moment too late. As it was, however, he was thankfully not taken wholly unawares by this sudden turn of events. The unnatural length of his foe's lightsaber hilt, which he now understood to be two lightsabers fused together as one, had made him take caution when he saw the tip of the lower end pointing in his direction. It had been difficult to spot accurately through the rain before, but its intended function was quite clear at this close a range. Quickly drawing on the Force, he let the energy flood through his body, accelerating his movements and quickening his perception of his surroundings.

Rather than using this boost in speed to retreat backward from the imminent skewering, he instead slid his right foot further out from his side and pivoted, spinning the rest of his body out of the space in front of the Jensaarai. Had he elected to move further back, he might have found himself dangerously close to having his back to the long drop into the dark sea. Now he would have to make his counterattack if he wished to avoid being cornered. The Jensaarai?s move had been a good one, swift and cunning, but it was a pose difficult to use defensively if the target escaped the blow. It was his best chance yet to strike. Continuing his spin, he brought his lightsaber down and around in a horizontal swing that should cut deep into the Jensaarai's back if it connected. He did not like to risk inflicting severe damage like this, but it did not appear that his chances of ending this soon were growing any greater. The slickness of the ground beneath his foot would make the exact timing and angle of his strike unpredictable, but he hoped that would work in his favor as much as it hindered him.